This disclosure relates to information retrieval.
Interactive media (e.g., the Internet) has great potential for improving the targeting of content items, e.g., advertisements, to receptive audiences. One form of online advertising is ad syndication, which allows advertisers to extend their marketing reach by distributing ads to additional partners. For example, third party online publishers can place an advertiser's text or image ads on the publishers' web pages to drive online customers to the advertiser's web page.
The advertisements that are placed on a publisher's web page may have to be displayed in an advertisement block that is a predetermined size. Often, the advertisements are associated with images and videos that may have to be resized before being displayed in the advertisement blocks. Resizing images and videos, however, can stretch the image or video out of proportion.